Oil retainer for gloves or mitts



Dec. 15, 1953 Filed July 9, 1952 R. F. WHEELER OIL RETAINER FOR GLOVES OR MITTS 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR kagafi WfieeZen (MAW ATTORNEY$ Dec. 15, 1953 R. F. WHEELER 2,662,225

OIL RETAINER FOR GLOVES OR MITTS Filed July 9, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Mu -k ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 15, 1953 OIL RETAINER FOR GLOVES 0R MITTS Ralph E. Wheeler, Springfield, Mass .assignor to A. G. Spalding & Br 110., Ghicopee, Mass, :1 corporation-oi. Delaware Application July 9, 1952, Serial 'No. 297,837

8 Claims.

The present invention relates to a glove or mit construction and particularly to gloves or mitts used for baseball.

It is the practice in preparing baseball gloves or mitts to oil or grease the particularly in the pocket section in which the ball is normally caught, to maintain the leather outer cover in this section sort, flexible and pliable and capable of being readily shaped into the desired pocket in accordance with the users requirement. The grease or oil can be applied directly to the cover or can be applied to the padding under the cover and due to the fibrous nature of the leather it penetrates and wicks through the leather and spreads into the cover section.

With gloves heretofore made, there has been no provision for retaining the oil or grease in the required location and as a consequence the oil or grease wicks out or spreads out of the pocket and is transferred to the other portions of the glove. This tends to soften those portions of the glove which are not desired to be softened and from a merchandising point of view the uncontrolled wicking of the oil or grease tends to discolor the glove outside of the pocket so as to render it less desirable in appearance.

The present invention overcomes these difilculties by providing a control for the oil or grease which prevents the same from spreading outside of the required and desired area.

This is accomplished in gloves in which the cover alone is oiled or greased by providing an oil resistant barrier in the cover outlining the portion to be oiled. The barrier prevents the oil from wishing or transferring to the adjacent glove portions. This not only maintains the oil where it is desired and prevents it from bleeding out but it also provides a means for preventing discoloration of the portions of the gloves which are not desired to be oiled.

In cases where the padding is oiled 0r greased and utilized to supply the oil for the cover, the present invention provides a barrier in the padding for preventing dispersion of the oil outside of the desired area and also a barrier in the cover outlining the area of the cover to which the oil is to be transferred.

While the barrier in the cover may be superposed on the barrier of the padding, it is at present preferred to locate the barrier in the cover outside of the barrier in the padding so that slight shifting of the padding will still maintain the receiving portion of the cover in overlying relation to the greased or oiled portion of the pad.

A feature of the invention resides in the fact .2 that the oil or grease is maintained in controlled relation with the other portions of the glove and does not tend to dissipate or wick out into the adjacent portions of the glove so as to unintentionally soften the leather therein.

Another feature of the invention resides in the fact that the oiled portion of the glove usually has a different color than the adjacent cover portion and by providing the oiled portion with a barrier of the required outline, an eiiective target or bulls-eye having a "sharp outline can be provided on the glove. In the event that the oil itself does not produce sufdcient contrast on the cover of the glove to cause the bulls-eye to stand out, dyes or other -0o10Ting matter may be applied. to the treated area to produce the desired contrast.

In cases where the cover :alone is oiled and there is danger of the oil being transferred to the padding to be transferred around the barrier and into the adjacent cover material, an additional barrier be provided between the cover and padding to ifurther confine the oil or grease to the oiled portion and against transfer to the adiacent portion.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the specification and claims when considered in connection with the drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a fielders glove embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 shows a catehers mitt embodying the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a detailed section of the cover portion takenalong theline -3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 shows a fielders mitt having the barrier in the padding and cover.

Fig. 5 is a section taken along line 5-5 of Fig. d.

Fig. 6 is a detailed view similar to Fig. 5 showing another form of the invention.

Fig. 7 shows a detailed view of a still further form of the invention.

As shown in Fig. l, the glove comprises an outer cover it of leather or the like having a pocket portion H located therein below the base of the first and second fingersvof the mitt and the thumb Throughout the specification and claims the term 3 "011 will be used to define such material. The oil, due to the fibrous nature of the leather, spreads or wicks out and is transferred to the. adjacent cover portion.

In carrying out the present invention this spreading or wicking is controlled and the oil prevented from passing out of the oiled portion of the cover by means of a flexible barrier l2. This barrier, which is of any desired width, outlines the oiled portion as is shown in Fig. l and is formed of any suitable oil resistant material. In the present preferred form of the invention the barrier is formed by a neoprene composition, either in a latex or cement form, which is forced under pressure through the leather to substantially completely impregnate the same from the top to the lower surface thereof, as shown in Fig. 3, to effectively separate the oiled portion from the adjacent portion of the cover without interfering with the flexing of the glove in use. With the barrier so positioned it will be seen that the oil placed in the pocket to soften the same and permit the leather to be shaped to produce the required pocket as desired by the user will not be dissipated or transferred to the adjacent material but will be retained in the pocket.

While the oiled portion confined by the barrier has herein been illustrated as being a pocket positioned below the first and second fingers and the thumb, it is to be understood that it can be extended to such other parts of the cover as it may be desired to oil.

Fig. 2 shows a catchers mitt having an outer cover lOa formed with the pocket Ha outlined by the barrier i211 so as to separate the oiled portion forming the pocket from the remainder of the mitt.

Not only does this barrier accurately confine the oil to the desired portion of the cover but inasmuch as the oil usually tends to darken the leather in contrast to the adjacent leather, a bulls-eye or target is formed. lhis is particularly desirable in a catchers mitt or first basemans mitt in which the pitcher or infielder is given a target to throw to and which is highly desirable. The target, due to the oil being definitely and sharply confined by the barrier, stands out in the glove and is of a tremendous advantage in use. If the color of the leather is such that the oil does not produce a sufficient contrast between the pocket and the adjacent cover material, any suitable dye or the like may be incorporated in the oil or the pocket given a treatment with a dye which would be retained by the barrier to produce the necessary contrasting appearance.

If the usual padding i3 for the glove is supplied With the oil, as is the practice in some cases, and then transferred to the overlying outer cover, as shown in Fig. 4,. the present invention provides a barrier i l outlining the oiled portion of the padding and also a barrier [2 for the cover outlining the oiled portion of the cover adapted to receive the oil from the padding. Though many compositions may be used to oil the padding, it is at present preferred to employ a combination of beeswax, petrolatum and depolymerized rubber.

While the barrier in the outer cover may be arranged to coincide with the barrier in the padding, in the preferred form of the invention the barrier E2 in the cover is located outside of barrier M in the padding, as illustrated by the relation of the barriers in Figs. 4 and 5. This will permit some slight shifting of the padding with respect to the oiled portion of the cover and yet be confined within barrier I2 and prevent the oil from passing the barrier and being transmitted to the adjacent portion of the cover outside of the oiled portion.

If desired, an additional inner barrier 15 may be formed to overlie the undersurface of the cover as shown in Fig. 6 when there is any possibility of the oil being transferred by the padding to the adjacent portion of the outer cover around the barrier l2. When the glove is to have the outer cover alone oiled and there is danger of transferring the oil about the barrier of the outer cover through the padding, a barrier [5a, as shown in Fig. 7, extending under the oiled portion and coextensive with the oiled portion can be provided.

While the secondary barriers I5, I 5a may be formed either on the padding or cover, they are herein illustrated as being formed as a coating on the undersurface of the cover and connecting with the barrier of the cover to prevent any transfer of the oil to the adjacent cover portion. This coating which is of a material similar to the composition forming barriers I2 and [4 may be applied by spraying, brushing or the like.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the present invention provides for accurate control of the oil provided to soften the cover of the glove which not only prevents undesirable spreading of the oil into adjacent portions of the glove but retains the oil in those parts in which it is desired.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claims and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

1. In a glove or mitt construction, an outer cover having an oiled portion of predetermined shape and a continuous barrier of oil resistant material outlining the oiled portion, said barrier extending through the cover to confine the oil within the oiled portion and prevent transfer thereof into the adjacent cover portion.

2. In a glove or mitt construction, an outer cover of leather having a portion of predetermined shape treated with a leather softening material, and a continuous barrier for the treating material outlining the treated portion, said barrier extending through the cover to confine the treating material within the treated portion and prevent transfer of said material into the adjacent cover portion.

3. In a glove or mitt construction, an outer cover of leather having a portion of predetermined shape located at the pocket of the glove and treated with a material to present a contrasting color with respect to said adjacent cover portion, and a continuous barrier for said treating material outlining said portion, said barrier extending through the cover to confine the treating material within said portion and prevent transfer thereof into the adjacent cover portion whereby a sharply outlined bulls-eye or target is provided for the glove or mitt.

4. In a glove or mitt construction, an outer cover of leather having an oiled portion and a continuous barrier of flexible oil resistant material outlining the oiled portion, and a coating of oil resistant material covering the underside of the oiled portion, said barrier extending completely through the leather cover and cooperating with said coating to confine the oil within the oiled portion and prevent transfer of the oil into the adjacent cover portion.

5. In a glove or mitt construction, an outer cover of leather having an oiled portion and a continuous barrier of neoprene composition outlining the oiled portion, said neoprene impregnating and extending completely through the cover to confine the oil within the oiled portion and prevent wiclzingof the oil into the adjacent cover portion.

6. In a glove or mitt construction, an inner fibrous padding member, and an outer cover of leather overlying the padding, the padding having an oiled portion and a continuous barrier of oil resistant material outlining the oiled por tion, said barrier extending completely through the padding to confine the oil within the oiled portion and prevent spreading thereof into the adjacent padding portion, the outer cover having a continuous barrier of oil resistant material outlining the portion of the cover overlying the oiled portion of the padding and preventing oil transferred from the padding to the cover from spreading to the adjacent cover portion.

7. In a glove or mitt construction, an inner fibrous padding member, and an outer cover of leather overlying the padding, the padding having an oiled portion and a continuous barrier of oil resistant material outlining the oiled portion, said barrier extending completely through the padding to confine the oil within the oiled a 5 portion and prevent spreading thereof into the adjacent padding portion, the outer cover having a continuous barrier of oil resistant material surrounding the portion of the cover overlying the oiled portion of the padding and spaced out- Wardly of the barrier in the padding and preventing oil transferred from the padding to the cover from spreading to the adjacent cover portion.

8. In a glove or mitt construction, an inner fibrous padding member, an outer cover of leather overlying the padding, the cover having an oiled portion and a continuous barrier of oil resistant material outlining the oiled portion, said barrier extending completely through the cover to confine the oil within the oiled portion and prevent spreading thereof into the adjacent cover portion, and a continuous barrier of oil resistant material disposed between the cover and padding and being at least coextensive with the oiled portion and preventing transfer of oil from the cover to the padding.

RALPH F. WHEELER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

